Combined shower bath, foot bath, and bidet apparatus



M. M. OCAFIA March 18, 1952 COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDET APPARATUS Filed Aug. 9, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet l M mA 0 0 m mR A N m MANUEL 3 Zzz's wi'iarneya M. M. OCARIA March 18, 1952 COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDE ZT APPARATUS Filed Aug. 9, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOISL MANUEL MUNAR OGANA M. M. OCANA March 18, 1952 COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND :BIDET APPARATUS Filed Aug. 9 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet I5 INVENTOR MANUEL MUNAR OCANA 5y Zais afl Z'arneys March 18, 1952 M. OCANA '2 2,589,281 A COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDET APPARATUS Filed Aug. 9, 1949 v '6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Tia. E

INVENTOIS MNUL MUAR OCANA March 18, 1952 M. M. ocANA 2,589,281

COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDET APPARATUS Filed Aug. 9, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOIi. MANUEL. MUNAR OCANA 5 21x15 @220 r raey-sr M. M. OCANA March 18, 1952 COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDET APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 9, 1949 INVENTOR.

MANUEL MUNAR 00AM a; his aZZOrnszy-s Patented Mar. 18, 1952 COMBINED SHOWER BATH, FOOT BATH, AND BIDET APPARATUS Manuel Munar Ocaiia, Madrid, Spain, assignor to Sociedad Annima de Aplicaciones Sanitarias, Madrid, Spain, a Spanish company Application August 9, 1949, Serial No. 109,333 In Spain June 28, 1947 3 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial Number 32,109 filed June 10, 1948 (now Patent No. 2,589,280). That application Serial No. 32,109 contains claims directed broadly to the seat shown in the present application without reference to any perineal shower cavity or bidet.

Reference is also made to my co-pending application Serial No. 148,027, filed March '7, 1950 (now Patent No. 2,589,592), which contains claims directed to the seat shown in the present application in combination with a perineal shower cavity.

This invention relates to a combined showerbath and foot-bath apparatus incorporating a seat for use when washing the feet. According to the present invention, a bidet is formed integrally in the seat, and provision is made therein for a perineal douche.

The necessity for making full use of the space available in dwellings, the need for economizing water and fuel and for saving time, and the importance of ensuring that the benefits of hygiene may be available every day to all the members of a household, for a long time past have been occupying the attention of architects, sanitation authorities and manufacturers of sanitary and hygienic appliances. Hence designs are frequently produced for solving the problem of replacing the baths at present in use, the disadvantages of which are numerous and well known, by an apparatus which meets the needs of the present day. These disadvantages include excessive area and height of the receptacle, restrictions in movements of the bather while seated, lack of a foot rest which is. out of the water, unsuitability for bathing children, excess water required to fill the foot-bath and excessive area in the bottom of the foot-bath permitting slipping of the feet.

For the purposes of obviating the disadvantages, making good the defects pointed out above, and of providing a device Which in as small a space as possible will completely solve the problem of the daily hygiene of the human body with the maximum economy of water, time and fuel, I have devised a combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet, which, because of its remarkable and original qualities, should revolutionize the modern installations of bathrooms.

My novel apparatus does not occupy any more floor space than the smallest of shower-baths commonly known; it is inexpensive compared to the present-day costs of baths; and it also presents other striking advances which are described below.

The cleaning of the body is effected by the sprinkling, squirting orv spraying of running water, at a pressure adequate for each case, which dissolves and carries dirt and humors away directly, in a downward direction. This is the best procedure for ensuring perfect by.- giene, because in ordinary baths one has to immerse oneself in still water which becomes contaminated with ones own exudations. To this may be added the difficulty of cleaning an ordinary bath-tub on account of its large surface area. For this reason such. a bath-tub may be regarded as an unhygienic receptacle, and a ready vehicle for the propagation of infectious and parasitic diseases.

The consumption of Water in the combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet apparatus ac cording to my novel invention is so small that it may be estimated at from one-eighth to onetenth of that of an ordinary bath. It will readily be realized how much this signifies with respect to economy in the consumption of water and of fuel for heating the water.

My combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet, in addition to scientifically and advantageously taking the place of baths of the kind indicated, likewise renders it possible to dispense with a separate bidet, a separate foot-bath, a separate shower-bath tray, a separate babys bath and a separate sitz-bath, so that it includes no less than six fixtures in one. My novel apparatus occupies only one-seventh of the aggre ate areaof all those fixtures together.

My invention is illustrated by way of example in Figures 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention installed with one wall of the cabin removed;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the fixture or receptacle of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a View in vertical section on the line III-III of the receptacle of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is, a view in vertical section at right angles to Fig. 3 on the line IV.IV of the receptacle of Fig. 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of my invention installed;

Figure 6' is a plan view of the receptacle of Fig. 5;

Figure 7 is a view in vertical section on the line VIIVII of the receptacle in Fig. 6.;

Figure 8 is a View in vertical section on the line VIIIVIII of the receptacle of Fig. 6;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a suitable perineal shower fitting; and

Figure is a view in vertical section of the shower fitting of Fig. 9.

The apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 4 consists of a rectangular receptacle, one of the sides of which rises vertically and is sloped outwardly at right angles, forming a tread A and a riser A of a step of suiflcient height and sufficient area in plan to be used as a seat. The shape and arrangement of the same render it possible for the user, when seated, to displace his body inwards and outwards of the receptacle, and to move his arms forward, backward, downward and sideways. This can be done with all the freedom requisite for carrying out in this posture the operations of soaping, rubbing and massage, as well as those of washing the feet, spraying various parts of the body, drying, etc. Such manipulations have heretofore been impossible in apparatuses of this nature heretofore known, as indicated above, which prior apparatuses preclude displacing the body backwards and permit only partial movement of the arms.

.In the middle of the bottom of my novel apparatus there is a rectangular cavity E, the area of which is designed to obviate any possibility of slipping while standing. The volumetric capacity of this lower cavity is designed to limit the consumption of water to what is strictly necessary for foot-washing. The lateral rests F serve as a support for the feet while the water is being prepared, or as a seat for very small children who cannot sit on the seat A.

Another element of great importance from the point of view of hygiene, and completely unknown heretofore in such apparatuses, is the bidet formed integrally in the middle of the seat A by a hollow C and provided with a duct D for a perineal douche. This arrangement of bidet is more rational and practical than those at present in use, because it is always more comfortable to seat oneself upon a plane surface of ample size as, for instance, the seat A, than upon the narrow and uncomfortable edges of an ordinary bidet. This is apart from the fact that the constrained position of the legs in the latter case prevents the freedom permitted by my device. Thus it will be noted that the user can sit facing either inwards or outwards.

The apparatus is designed to be incorporated in a cabinet formed by three Walls, as shown in Fig. 1 (with the wall nearest the observer removed). The edges are provided with ledges 0 upon which is to be mounted the tiling or whatever covering material is employed, in order that the union may be perfect and that there may be no risk of water leaking out and causing dampness.

The outer edge of the seat A is supported upon a small brickwork base X covered with tiles Z,

as shown in Fig. 1.

The arrangements for supplying water include a water-mixer V which receives supplies of hot 4). To prevent contamination of the fresh water supply, the perineal shower DI (Figs. 9, 10) is provided with an integral over-flow pipe D2 which prevents any cross connection between clean and dirty Waters.

In the modification of this apparatus represented in Figs. 5 to 8, the side opposite to the seat A is of angular shape, as shown in plan in Fig. 6, so that it can be installed in any corner of the dwelling. This form is convenient in those cases in which it is not practicable or convenient to erect partitions, more especially in installations of an economical type or of a provisional nature, where quick and easy erection is the main consideration.

The other features are not altered except with regard to the position of the foot-bath spout N which in this case is fitted in an orifice K in the triangular ledge U resulting from the configuration adopted.

The combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet according to my invention may be made a of earthenware, porcelain, china, glass or other suitable ceramic material, or of marble or other stone, natural or artificial, or copper, nickel silver, iron, zinc or other materials.

What I claim is:

1. A combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet comprising a shower and foot bath receptacle, one upper edge of the receptacle being widened into a platform forming a seat, and a concavity in the center of the seat forming a half bidet associated with the receptacle and adapting the seat to perineal washing.

2. A combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet comprising a bath receptacle, a seat formed in the upper edge of the receptacle, and a concavity in the center of the seat forming a half bidet and adapting the seat to perineal Washing, in combination with a perineal shower in the bidet concavity and an overflow pipe below the level of the perineal shower, whereby any cross-connection between clean and dirty waters is positively prevented.

3. A combined shower-bath, foot-bath and bidet comprising a bath receptacle, a seat formed in the upper edge of the receptacle, and a concavity in the center of the seat forming a half bidet and adapting the seat to perineal washing, the bath receptacle as a whole being fivesided in outline, two opposite sides adjacent to the seat being at right angles to the latter and the two remaining sides being at right angles to one another, with the result that the apparatus can be compactly installed in a corner with the seat facing said corner.

MANUEL MUNAR OCANA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,676,116 Smith July 3, 1928 1,849,346 Cromwell Mar. 15, 1932 2,301,761 Thompson Nov. 10, 1942 2,306,934 Cade Dec, 29, 1942 2,490,982 Rodman Dec. 13, 1949 

